Ambler Musicivic presents Alkemie online July 4-11

Ambler Musicivic is presenting Alkemie in online virtual residency the week of July 4-11.

Brooklyn based Alkemie exists to explore and share the life-affirming and alternative perspectives to be experienced in the sounds of centuries past. Comprised of singer-performers playing over a dozen instruments (including vielles, harps, psaltery, recorders, douçaines, and percussion), the ensemble has a particular interest in the porous boundaries between the court and folk music of the medieval period. Grounded in historical performance practice and fed by a love of experimentation, Alkemie’s performance on the Indianapolis Early Music Festival in June 2018 was lauded as “enchanting” and “indicating [the] future health” of the field of early music.

Florilegium: Plant Streams across the English Channel is a wonderful exploration of medieval music with botanic themes by Holborne, Susato, Crequillon, Sermisy, Wilbye, Clemens non Papa, Bateson and Isaac, and includes with a new composition by ensemble guest Ben Matus, who extends the theme into fictional worlds with “Evermind”, from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.

Regarding his composition, Matus writes “In appreciation for the many roles that plants play in our worlds (both real and imagined), I wrote ‘Evermind’about a fictitious plant in a fictional land. Simbelmynë is a flower from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings that grows on burial mounds. Gandalf describes this flower, saying, ‘How fair are the bright eyes in the grass! Evermind they are called, simbelmynë in this land of Men, for they blossom in all the seasons of the year, and grow where dead men rest.’”

Alkemie’s performance is wonderfully researched and curated and beautifully performed combining instruments old, folk and new with wonderfully voiced songs and compositions. A preview of the concert can be found at https://youtu.be/fSRGyKaGLZo.

Ambler Musicivic is presenting a new online group in residence each week this summer. The programs are introduced with a “live chat hosted” premiere each Sunday evening at 7:00 and remain available “OnDemand” through the following week. Keep an eye out for both formal and informal “watch parties” in local venues. Tickets are always free and available through http://tickets.amblermusicivic... . Ambler Musicivic is a member, donor and sponsor supported organization committed to providing art music experiences in Ambler and its surrounding communities. Keep up to date with what is happening through our weekly page at https://amblermusicivic.org/Th... .